1. Technical Field
The disclosure is related generally to turbomachines. More particularly, the disclosure is related to an air inlet silencer for turbomachines.
2. Related Art
Conventional turbomachines, such as gas turbine systems, are utilized to generate power for electric generators. In general, conventional turbomachines generate power by passing a fluid (e.g., hot gas) through a compressor and a turbine component of the turbomachine. More specifically, fluid may flow through a fluid flow path for rotating a plurality of rotating buckets of the turbine component for generating the power. The fluid may be directed through the turbine component via the plurality of rotating buckets and a plurality of stationary nozzles positioned between the rotating buckets.
The fluid provided to the compressor component of conventional turbomachines enters the compressor component via an air inlet system. The air inlet system may include an air inlet duct for drawing inlet air into the air inlet system, a filtration system for preventing contaminates or debris (e.g., dust, sand) of the inlet air from entering the compressor component of the turbomachine, and a silencer system for minimizing the sound created by the turbomachine during operation. More specifically, the silencer system in conventional turbomachines may be utilized to provide sound attenuation for the turbomachine during operation, as well as aid in providing the fluid to the compressor component during operation of the turbomachine. By including a silencer system with acoustically absorptive properties, the silencer system may diminish sound emitted during operation of the turbomachine. In typical silencer systems, a silencer component and/or the silencer housing may be lined with a sound attenuating material or insulator for minimizing the sound.
However, by utilizing sound attenuating materials within the silencer system, the flow properties of the fluid may be negatively affected, resulting in a decrease of efficiency within the compressor component and ultimately a decrease in efficiency of the turbomachine. More specifically, as the fluid passes through the silencer system and over the sound attenuating materials, the fluid may experience changes in temperature, flow velocity, and/or flow pressure. Changes in the flow pathway may increase pressure loss in the fluid flow, and decrease the efficiency of the compressor component. One way of avoiding pressure loss in the fluid flow is to build a large air inlet system, and specifically a large silencer system, to allow the fluid to move freely through the air inlet system toward the compressor component. However, large air inlet systems may be costly to build and may limit the positioning of the turbomachine due to the size of the air inlet system.